How the Internet Affects Children 

21st March 2023

The internet is a vast source of information. However, it can expose your children to inappropriate ideas and images. It can also affect your child’s development because of: 

  • Too much screen time 
  • Lack of physical activity (less time for play) 
  • Overstimulation and decreasing level of focus 
  • Exposure to disturbing videos and images 
  • Poor sleeping habits 
  • Bad posture (notice how your child uses the smartphone) 

In other words, too much internet use can harm your child. This might have long-term effects because of how early experiences can shape a child’s learning and future. That’s because during early childhood, that’s where rapid brain development occurs. 

Although babies and toddlers can’t still understand what’s going on whenever they watch something on a smartphone or TV, they still love watching. The several hours of screen time can affect their brains bit by bit. They might also pick up some inappropriate behaviour because of what they watched, whether on YouTube or TikTok. 

What parents can do for their children’s online safety 

As parents, what we can do is to limit our children’s screen time. Thirty minutes to one hour is already plenty of time for our children. Also, our children can easily get tired when watching on a screen. That energy could have been spent on physical play (which is more beneficial to their physical and cognitive development). 

In addition, we parents can also monitor the internet use of our children. We should always maintain a line of sight to what our children watch. Aside from protecting them from inappropriate images and videos, it’s also our way of protecting them from possible cyberbullying. 

Also, we can calmly explain to our children that some websites are intended only for adults. Children still have no idea what the internet is all about (they were just born with the internet present already, unlike many of us). Further, they might still be unable to distinguish between what’s real, fantasy and inappropriate. 

Our role as parents is to help ensure our children’s safety. Whether during physical play or internet use, we parents should have an active role in our children’s development. This way, we can set them on the right path and give them an amazing start in life.